'Barongsai' dance attracts small crowd

'Barongsai' dance attracts small crowd

JAKARTA (JP): The enchanting performances of orchestra, dance,
and the Chinese barongsai dragon dance in the front yard of
Fatahillah Museum in West Jakarta on Saturday unfortunately was
enjoyed by only a small number of viewers.

The one-day "Old City Tour Performance" was initially aimed at
luring more people to see the Betawi (indigenous to Jakarta)
ondel-ondel giant puppets, tanjidor and gambang kromong
orchestras, and yapong dance in the downtown Kota area. The
venue, which is also the Jakarta History Museum, is surrounded by
many old buildings and the area has been a tourist center for
years.

The performances, which were very popular in the past, were
carefully selected by the organizers to evoke the image of Kota
in the old days.

Unfortunately, only 200 people turned up on Saturday.

Organizer Husni Said explained that the poor attendance was
mainly due to poor preparation, which was only started a week
before the event.

"We have no big hopes that our goal has been reached
immediately after the event. It was just a try," he said.

Opened by Deputy Governor for Economic and Financial Affairs
Fauzie Alvi Yasin, the event was also held to commemorate the
recent 472nd city anniversary and the upcoming 52nd Indonesian
Independence Day.

The Chinese barongsai dragon dance performance was banned by
the new order government in 1974 for political reasons related to
the abortive coup blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party.

Thanks to the recent wave of reform, the dance is no longer a
problem for the government.

"Of course, we're happy that in the end we can witness our
cultural heritage," commented a Chinese-Indonesian viewer from
Tanjung Duren in West Jakarta. (ind)